Nikkei 225 Ends Higher
It was a bloodbath across Asian equities today as WHO reported a spike in coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours.
The Nikkei 225 closed at its lowest level since November 2016 today, at 16,726.48 with a 1.68% loss for the day. Also in the red was the Shanghai Composite Index which was down 1.83% at 2,728.756. Australian stocks also finished lower with the ASX incurring a 6.43% loss at 4,953.2. The Hang Seng Index, while still open, also looks poised to finish with a loss. It is currently in the red by over 4.30%, trading around 22,233.0.
According to the WHO, confirmed coronavirus cases grew by 9.1% to 167,515. This is the biggest single-day jump since the pandemic started which translates to 13,998 people. Consequently, growing concerns about the coronavirus weighed on sentiment once again. This is despite news that a drug manufactured by Fujifilm is said to help patients recover from the infection. Earlier today, Chinese health officials cited that the anti-flu drug, Avigan, helped clear the lungs of those infected by the coronavirus. This has consequently led to a 15% jump in the Fujifilm share price.
Meanwhile, risk aversion also seems to be dominating price action on the major currencies too. NZDUSD is leading losses at -0.63%. AUDUSD has also given up its earlier gains with it trading 0.57% below its opening price. USDJPY is the third-biggest loser with a floating loss of 0.23%.
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On the 1-hour time frame, we can see that the recent uptrend on USDJPY is still intact. In fact, when you connect the lows of March 12 and March 16, you will see that the currency pair is testing trend line support. The doji which recently formed could suggest that USDJPY may be on its way to its recent highs at 108.40.
On the daily time frame, it can be seen that there is a confluence of resistance at this price. For one, it coincides with the 200 SMA. When using the Fibonacci retracement tool to draw from the high of February 20 to the low of March 9, we can see that this price coincides with the 61.8% Fib level. Lastly, USDJPY bottomed at this price on January 6. Reversal candlesticks at this price could mean that sellers may soon push USDJPY lower. Near-term support is at 101.70 where the currency pair recently found support.